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Cinnamon Rolls - Memorize Your Lines and Try Not To Bump Into the Furniture.

And never let them cough.

Life's like a play: it's not the length, but the excellence of the acting that matters. ~Seneca

“For an actress to be a success, she must have the face of Venus, the brains of Minerva, the grace of Terpsichore, the memory of Macaulay, the figure of Juno, and the hide of a rhinoceros.” ~Ethel BarrymoreI'm Carrie Leigh... a wife, mother, actress, teacher, writer, daughter, sister, aunt and friend. I love cooking, reading, baking, Jesus, sewing, theatre, blueberries, and watching complete seasons of television shows on DVD. Not necessarily in that order.

So my dear friend and online partner in crime, Celeste and I swap recipes. We're moms. We get bored, and I know I LOVE making stuff that other people love. I introduced her to such culinary delights at Ro*Tel and Velveeta and Greek seasoning. At some point last year, after she practically had to BEG, I typed up a recipe that I use for homemade yeast rolls, that only takes an hour, I swear. I made it all the time when Nolan and I were first married, and then I got a bread machine and didn't make it very often anymore.

So when Celeste said that she'd modified my recipe to make CINNAMON ROLLS, I was intrigued, to say the least. She told me how she did it, and I suggested that she do a cooking blog post to show us how, and she made some comment like, "Yeah, Carrie, you can have all that." So I will.

Combine milk, water and butter in a saucepan. Heat over low heat til liquids are very warm; butter doesn't need to melt.

Add it to the dry indredients in the mixer slowly, mix for 2 minutes.

Dump it out on a floured boardLuckily for me, I have lots of cutting boards.Knead it, beating the holy crap out of it until it's smooth, like so. I forgot how incredibly cathartic kneading bread dough is. It's awesome. Talk about getting out your frustrations.

Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Set it in a pan of hot water and cover, letting it rise for 15 minutes. I only put it in the oven because it's a draft-free place. The oven's not on, or anything.

If it were, the towel would catch on fire, and my kitchen would go up in a blaze of doughy glory.

Then mix together cinnamon and sugar. how much? Um... Your call.

Do you have one of these? I love these little suckers. It's a sugar shaker, made by the Pampered Chef, and it's awesome.

So put in the cinnamon and sugar and mix it together,Like so.

If you like nuts, throw some of those bad boys in, too.

It looks like an army of invading walnuts from this angle. "Take me to your leader!"

This is the cookbook page from which the recipe comes. It's nasty, and the book falls open to that page I've made it so many times.

After 15 minutes, punch down the dough. Someone wronged you in the last week? Imagine their face.

Or something more Christian, your choice.

Roll out the dough. I tried for a rectangle, but it didn't happen. Smear that bad boy with butter. I could lie, and say I used a knife, but I didn't. I used my fingers. And you will, too.

Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, and nuts, if you so choose.

Roll him up and cut into slices.

Tell Katie Bell to GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN for the nine millionth time. She waits patiently for me to drop something, and then she's lightning quick to get it. My floors are clean, anyway. Well, marginally clean, depending upon what your definition is. ;)

Place them all on a baking sheet and let them rise in a draft free place for 15-20 minutes.

Take your coffee and go work on your dgficexchange story. No wait. That's just me.

While they're rising, I'm going to be honest with you folks. These are what I usually use. They're awesome. You set them in a pan the night before you need them, and then pop 'em in the oven for 15 minutes when you get up. AWESOME.

But not today. Today I am doing things the 'Little House on the Prairie' way, y'all. These guys are rising. RISE! RISE! Then bake at 425 degrees for 12 minutes.

If the cinnamon rolls themselves aren't enough sugar for you, here's a little icing I whipped up with some cream cheese, powdered sugar and a little OJ. YUM.

Look at them, all golden brown.

And iced. I swear, my heart just skipped a beat.

You be jealous. These are great, Celeste. AJ proclaimed them 'better than a donut.'

Only there's going to be pie abound at my mom's today, and if I make up a batch of cinnamon rolls (my recipe makes like a half sheet pan) then it won't be very long until I'm needed those jeans in the donation pile.

:O! That's all I ever talk about! Pa is my hero! *nods* I have the books, too! AND all seasons of the show on DVD. I have Little House marathons on a regular. hehehe! X) I know what we can do when we finally do get together. LITTLE HOOUUUUUSE! :D